The Family Man
by Pip-2250
Summary: AU What if you made different choices in the past? How would that affect your future? Ron is about to find out as he is given a second chance at love with the girl he lost five years ago and the life he might have had with her.
1. Chapter 1

**The Family Man**

Summary: Ron has a great life.He's rich, famous, girls throwing themselves at his feet, what more could a guy ask for? He's about to find out when he is given a glimpse of what could have been if he had chosen love over money and family over fame. Ron wakes up one morning in a house that's not his, with a past love that is now his wife and kids he can't remember having. What if he starts to see what life is like for the people who may not be rich, but who are certainly prosperous in other ways.

Chapter 1

"Ah, a life of luxury…" Ron Weasley sighed, sitting back in his luxurious flat and sipping a beer. "Harry, what do you think of my new place?"

"It's nice." Harry sat on the couch, cradling his beer and looking around slowly.

The flat was very modern looking. All the furniture was a dark onyx black, while the walls and carpet was a light creamy color. The living room was nicely furnished, with a large fireplace, two leather couches and an armchair that Ron was currently sitting in. There was a small hallway that led back to the master bedroom, the guest room, an office and a spare bathroom. The kitchen was just off the living room through a swinging door.

The kitchen door swung open and Ginny, Ron's younger sister came out. "Mum's going to have kittens when she sees your kitchen, it's bloody huge!" She said as she sat down next to Harry on the couch.

"Well, I'll probably not use it that much. Being an international sports star means you don't eat in often." Ron said as he sat up a bit higher in his chair.

Ginny scowled. "You're still a prat. Even if you are an international sports star, you're still a Weasley, don't forget that, dear brother." Ginny said as she gathered her purse and started for the door. "Mum wants me to invite you to dinner tomorrow night, if you can fit us into your busy schedule. Harry, you're invited too, of course." Ginny smiled at Harry before glaring once more at Ron and striding out the door.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked, clueless.

"I don't know." Harry answered, following Ginny's progress out the door and watching the closed door for a moment after she had left. Finally turning back to Ron, he said," Well, I need to be going as well. I've got to be into the office early." Harry got up and put on his coat. Ron walked him to the door and they shook hands as Harry asked, "So, will I see you at the Burrow tomorrow?"

"I don't think so, mate. I've got a pretty little thing who has been waiting for ages to take me out to dinner." Ron said with a grin.

"Well, I'll owl you in a few days. We can have lunch soon, all right?"

"Sure. Good bye." Ron called at Harry's back as he walked down the hall of the apartment building.

Ron walked back to his chair and picked up his half drunken beer bottle. He walked into his kitchen and opened his fridge. Being Arthur Weasley's son had the advantages of knowing at least some Muggle technology. The fridge was empty except for a small block of moldy cheese, which Ron picked up and quickly threw in the trashcan.

"Guess I'm going out." Ron chuckled. He went into his hall and grabbed his jacket and a cap from the small closet. He tried to be inconspicuous as he left his building, pulling his cap down to shield his eyes. Now that he was an international sports star, he was quite recognizable and could hardly go anywhere without being mobbed for pictures and autographs, not that he really minded it.

When he had graduated Hogwarts, a year late, he was quickly picked to play on the Puddlemere United reserve team (Oliver Wood had already left to go play on the Montrose Magpies and they needed a new Keeper). He had quickly proven himself and had moved on to the Chudley Cannons, his favorite team in the world. After about a year, the coach had decided to make him the Captain of the team. He quickly turned the team's reputation around and the Cannons became the favorite to win the next Quidditch Cup. Ron, being the main reason for the popularity, was interviewed for every newspaper and magazine in circulation and his picture appeared on the cover of many magazines. He even won _Witch Weekly's_ Most Charming Smile Award, twice. The only thing that was missing from Ron's life was a steady girl, but he had no intention of settling down any time soon, so that certainly didn't bother him.

Ron quickly made his way to The Leaky Cauldron and walked up to the bar. "Tom, I'd like a meal to go and fast." He looked around the room wearily and adjusted his cap again.

"Of course, that'll be five galleons, Mr. Weasley." Tom said as he handed him a small bag.

"Weasley! Ron Weasley?" An alluring feminine voice asked from behind him.

"Thanks a lot, Tom." Ron smiled as he paid the man and turned around.

A beautiful exotic woman stood behind him with a seductive smile and large eyes. "It's been a while, Ron. I almost didn't recognize you with that cap on."

"Padma Patil. What have you been up to since Hogwarts?" Ron grinned at her.

"Oh, I'm the new editor for _Witch Weekly_. It's a pretty nice job and I love being the boss." She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at Ron. "And I know all about what you've gotten up to since Hogwarts. I've been to a few games and you're smashing." Padma threaded her arm through Ron's arm. "Shall we have dinner together?" Ron nodded, smiling at her. "I see you've already got your take-out, just hold on a moment and I'll be right with you." She turned back to Tom and ordered her food, paid and turned back to Ron. "So, your place or mine?" Ron had a good idea about where this night was headed and promptly told her he would like to see her place.

On the way back to Padma's flat, they kept a steady stream of conversation, reminiscing about old times and telling each other how others from their graduating class had been doing.

"Do you still keep in touch with Harry Potter?" Padma asked.

"Of course, I actually just saw him today. You already know he's an Auror, right? Mad-Eye Moody managed to convince him to be his apprentice of sorts after we graduated."

"So, you went back to Hogwarts after you all defeated You-Know-Who?" Padma asked.

"Yeah, we ended up graduating with Ginny, just a year after you guys." Ron took off his cap and ruffled his hair as they entered Padma's flat.

"Here, we can eat at the bar. Do you want something to drink?" Padma asked as she set her food on the counter. "Butterbeer? Wine?"

"Wine would be good." Ron answered as he sat down on one of the barstools and took his food out of his bag.

Padma came out of the kitchen with some plates, silverware, a bottle of wine, and some glasses. She uncorked the bottle of wine and poured both of them a glass as Ron put their food on the plates.

"So, what is Parvati up to?" Ron asked.

"Oh, she married Dean Thomas a few years back. They're expecting their second child in a few months. They already have a little girl, Ava. She's a right little monster." Padma said affectionately. "What has Hermione done recently? I heard about her going into St. Mungo's and revolutionizing the medical world, but she seemed to have disappeared a few years back."

"I actually don't know. I lost touch with her after I started to play on the Cannons. She was never that interested in coming to games and I didn't have a lot of free time, neither did she, and we just lost touch…" Ron trailed off.

"Oh, well, enough of old friends. How about a toast? To the future." Padma said as she raised her glass and looked at him with a seductive look.

"To the future." Ron clinked his glass with hers and took a long sip. When he put his glass down, Padma leaned in and kissed him. They kissed each other hungrily and soon they were tugging at their clothes. Padma led the way to the bedroom, and things continued on from there.

AN: Well, here is another story. This is supposed to take place when the trio are 25 years old. Although I've never seen "The Family Man," I do know the basic plot and this is based on that. I thought it would be a good set up for Ron and Hermione, an interesting set up at the least. Please Review, flame if you must, but I probably won't read. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry, Ron, Hermione, or any other characters you recognize. I also do not own the plot to "The Family Man."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Family Man**

Summary: Ron has a great life. He's rich, famous, girls throwing themselves at his feet, what more could a guy ask for? He's about to find out when he is given a glimpse of what could have been if he had chosen love over money and family over fame. Ron wakes up one morning in a house that's not his, with a past love that is now his wife and kids he can't remember having. What if he starts to see what life is like for the people who may not be rich, but who are certainly prosperous in other ways.

Chapter 2

Ron woke up at seven o'clock the next morning and carefully detached himself from Padma and started looking for all of his clothes. He had to be at practice at nine and he wanted to go back to his flat and shower before that. He had a little trouble pulling his cap out from under the bed, but soon he was dressed and out of Padma's flat.

There weren't many people out at this time of morning, mostly businesspeople on their way to work. He kept thinking of Hermione, why did Padma have to bring her up? Hermione Granger was the love of his life, who he had lost because of his ambition and passion for Quidditch, but he had chosen Quidditch over her and now he was rich and famous and had many women throwing themselves at him. He wasn't depressed, but he wasn't content either. He stopped at a crosswalk and looked at the people who were coming toward him. Bushy hair? He only knew one person with bushy hair. He tried to get a look at the woman, but she had a newspaper held in front of her face. He kept walking past her and looked back a few times to see if she would turn around. He ended up bumping into an older man and stopped turning around after apologizing profusely to the man. Little did he know, that the woman finally took her paper down and turned to look at him with her sad cinnamon eyes.

"Oi, Weasley! Watch it, will you?" Josh Abbott yelled at him as he hit the Bludger away from his teammate.

"Sorry, Abbott, late night last night, you know?" Ron asked cheekily.

"Ugh, we don't want to hear about your sex life, Weasley!" Sophia Wallace shouted before she tried shooting the Quaffle into the left hoop.

Ron blocked it and threw the ball to Sophia's twin Olivia as she swooped over on her broomstick.

"Sophie, the object of the game is to get the Quaffle past the Keeper, not talk to him and then shoot while he's watching. If he's not paying attention, that's his problem!" Olivia teased her twin.

"Sorry, Weasley was telling Abbott about his sex life and I just happened to be averse to the idea of losing my breakfast, Liv." Sophia told her.

"Again? Come on, Weasley. Do we really need to know?" Sean Hamilton asked as he stopped looking for the Snitch and came to join the conversation.

"Sorry," Ron grinned impishly. "You know how it is, Hamilton."

"No, glad to say that I don't. I'm married remember? I wake up to the same beautiful face I've been waking up to for the past two years." Sean said with a smile.

"Yes, when are you going to try and settle down, Ron?" Rachel McMillan asked as she trailed her beaters' bat beside her.

"Oh, you don't know? I'm a confirmed bachelor." Ron told her with a smirk.

"Are we playing or are we gossiping like a group of women!" An outraged voice came from behind them. The last Chaser, David Price had arrived.

"Some of us don't appreciate that comment, David." Olivia said, glaring at him.

"Sorry, but come on. Let's go." David urged.

"Actually, I think we can stop for the day. It's already past three. We've been out here for a long time." Ron said as he led the team down the ground. "Good practice today, we put in a lot of hard work. I'll see you on Friday at ten o'clock." He told the team as they walked back to the changing rooms.

On his way home, Ron decided he needed to go grocery shopping. He quickly detoured to the nearest market and started to look around. He soon had a basket full of food and walked up to the cash register. The cashier started to ring up his purchases when a man in a mask came into the store and walked right up to the cashier.

"Give me all the money." The man in the mask said as he pointed his wand at the cashier.

"Whoa, do you really want to do this?" Ron asked, trying to soothe the man as the cashier looked at him with frightened eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure." The man sounded amused and annoyed. "Now move, or I'll hurt you, too."

"Now calm down, mate. Just put the wand down. Do you need money? I could give you some, but don't hurt this man for it. That's it, just put it down," Ron coaxed as the man started to lower his wand.

"Sorry, I've been under considerable stress lately. I just lost me job, and don't have any money for rent." The man said downheartedly.

"I understand. Here, I'll give you fifty galleons, that's all I have left after groceries, is that going to be enough?" Ron asked as he looked into his money pouch.

"That's enough for two months. Thanks, mate. You're a real nice guy. Are you sure your wife isn't going to be angry with you?" The man asked.

"Oh, I don't have a wife." Ron chuckled as he paid the still scared looking cashier for his groceries and grabbed his bags.

"Really?" the man looked at him suspiciously. "Are you gay?"

"No, I don't swing that way, mate."

"So how come a nice guy like you doesn't have a wife?" The man asked incredulously.

"Well, I guess I never found the right girl." Ron stopped as he said that and Hermione's face passed in front of his eyes quickly.

"Are you happy with that?"

"Look, I've got everything I could want or need. I don't need a wife." Ron told the man a bit more harshly than he had meant to.

"All right. Sorry. Well, thanks a lot for the money, mate. Maybe thing's will be different from now on, eh?" The man walked away chuckling and mumbling, "Everything he could want or need, sure…"

Ron watched him for a moment and then headed for his flat. "Strange bloke." He thought as he fished his key out of his pocket and balancing his grocery bags.

Ron put his food away and noticed that there was an owl waiting on his perch. "Hello, Pig." Ron greeted as he threw him an owl treat. Pig caught the treat and extended his leg to give Ron his mail.

"Bill…Bill...Junk…Hello, what's this? It's from Michelle. She can't meet me tonight, apparently she has fallen ill, poor girl. Oh well, no date tonight." Ron smirked. "Looks like it's just you and me Pig." Pig hooted as Ron pet his feathers.

Ron prepared dinner and ate it quickly, anxious to look over some new Quidditch plays that had been given to him after practice by Rachel. He sat going over the plays carefully while drinking scotch, his preferred drink. He ended up getting a little tipsy and when the lines on the parchment started wiggling, Ron reckoned it was time for bed, so he stumbled down the hall and collapsed on his bed.

AN: This takes place when the trio is 25 years old. I thought I should go ahead and update chapter 2 as well, since I got that finished, I even managed to put some Quidditch in. I hope you enjoyed it. Please Review, flame if you must, but I probably won't read. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry, Ron, Hermione, or any other characters you recognize. I also do not own the plot to "The Family Man."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Family Man**

Summary: Ron has a great life. Many people envy him. He's rich, famous, girls throwing themselves at his feet, what more could a guy ask for? He's about to find out when he is given a glimpse of what could have been if he had chosen love over money and family over fame. Ron wakes up one morning in a house that's not his, with a past love that is now his wife and kids he can't remember having. What if he starts to see what life is like for the people who may not be rich, but who are certainly prosperous in other ways.

Chapter 3

"BEEP…BEEP…BEEP!" An alarm clock blared next to Ron's head. He groaned, trying to remember why he had set the annoying contraption.

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up! You promised you would make me pancakes today!" A small girl yelled near his head.

'Why can't my neighbors control their ruddy brats?' Ron thought as he buried his head under the pillow.

All of a sudden, his bed started to shake. Ron sat up quickly and something warm slid off of his waist as he looked in shock at the redheaded girl jumping on his bed.

"Love, you know how she gets. Just go and make her your pancakes." A groggy voice said from beside him.

Ron turned to his left slowly, trying to place the voice that sounded so familiar. "Hermione!" He exclaimed as he recognized the bushy brown hair and half-closed cinnamon eyes.

"Yes, love?" Hermione asked as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked quickly, completely ignoring the jumping child on the bed.

"Well," Hermione said slowly. "I was sleeping until your bloody alarm clock woke me up." Hermione gave him an odd look as she got out of the bed and caught the young girl, setting her on the floor. "Sweetie, why don't you go wait in the kitchen and Daddy will be right there."

"All right, Mum." The small girl called as she ran out of the room.

"Hermione, you swore!" Ron looked gob smacked.

"Well, your bad habits have been rubbing off on me for the past fourteen years, of course I picked up something. Unfortunately, you've never picked up any of my good habits." She said with a glare as she picked up dirty clothes that littered the floor, tossing them into the hamper next to the door. "I'm going to wake up Jack. You need to meet Eleanor in the kitchen, now." She said commandingly as she swept out of the room with the clothes hamper.

'All right. This must be a dream. Just play along, Weasley. You'll wake up soon enough back in your nice new apartment and go off to Quidditch practice.' Ron thought to himself as he sat in the bed for a moment and looked around. He was in a nicely sized bedroom that was painted a soft golden color with ruby colored accents. He quickly got out of the bed and headed for the nearest door. He opened it and discovered a bathroom. He quickly closed it and went to the next door. From this closet, he grabbed some clothes and dressed and left the room. He walked down the hall, peaking into the rooms as he went by. He passed a small bedroom, painted a sky blue with a bed and Hermione leaning over a crib. Next was a smaller room painted light lavender. He came to the living room and came upon the door to the kitchen and quickly entered.

"Finally, Daddy! I thought you'd never get here." The small redheaded girl, who he assumed was named Eleanor, said to him.

"I'm here now. What did you want me to make, again?" Ron asked as he ruffled his hair.

"Pancakes, Daddy. And I want to help stir this time." Eleanor said indignantly with her hands on her hips in an uncannily Hermione-ish gesture.

"All right. Let me see if I can find the ingredients." Ron started opening random cupboards, but couldn't seem to find any flour.

"It's down here, Daddy." Eleanor said as she directed him to the correct cupboard.

Ron's ears started to burn as he quickly said thank you and grabbed it and placed it on the countertop. Eleanor went to the fridge and took out the eggs and milk and brought the ingredients to Ron.

"Er…Eleanor?" Ron questioned, hoping that this was indeed Eleanor.

"Daddy," she giggled. "You never call me that!"

"Oh, and what do I call you?" Ron hoped she would think he was just teasing her.

"You call me Ellie! Silly Daddy." She giggled happily.

Ron smiled at the cute little girl. "All right, Ellie. Do you know where Mummy put the mixing bowl?"

"It's up there." Ellie pointed just above his head.

"Thanks." Ron said and grabbed the bowl out of the cupboard.

The two got to work. Ron put all the ingredients in the bowl and handed the wooden spoon (which Ellie had pulled out of the drawer) to the redhead. Ellie started to stir slowly, occasionally flicking spare batter out of the bowl by accident. One clump of batter landed on Ron's cheek, which caused Ellie to giggle again. She looked up at Ron and he got a good look at her. She was a gangly girl with slightly tanned skin, a dusting of freckles and cinnamon eyes. She was a perfect combination of Ron and Hermione. She had his fire engine red hair and Hermione's small button nose, which looked a lot better than his long nose.

While Ellie was thoroughly absorbed in her stirring, Ron tried to ask her some questions.

"Ellie, how old are you?"

"Five and a half." She answered not looking up from the bowl.

"How old is Jack?" Ron asked remembering the crib in the bedroom.

"One and three quarters." Ron noticed that she had Hermione's love of being precise. "Why are you asking me these silly questions?" She asked as she tried to pry a bit of batter out of her hair.

"Oh, well…er…" Ron's ear's turned red again. "I was just testing you. Yeah, that's what it was, a test!" Ron smiled down at her.

"Oh, did I pass?" She looked anxiously up at him.

"You were wonderful! Perfect." She beamed up at him and he noticed that she had his dimples as well as Hermione's anxiety to prove herself.

"Now, is there anything else I need to know?"

"Weeelll," Ellie drew it out as all kids do as they're thinking. A mischievous gleam appeared in her eyes. "My birthday is tomorrow and I really want a new broom. My little kids' one is too boring."

"Eleanor Marie Weasley! We've already talked about your broom. You will just have to wait until you are seven for a new broom and you have six months to go before your sixth birthday!" Hermione entered with a small brunette in her arms. She deposited him into a high chair and looked at Ron and Ellie. "You two are a mess! Did you manage to keep any batter in the bowl?" She asked as she grabbed a dishcloth and started wiping Eleanor's face. When she was done with Ellie's face, she started on Ron's.

"Oi, Hermione, gerroff!" He tugged the cloth out of her hands and started to wipe his own face.

"MUM!" A voice yelled from outside the side door behind the baby's highchair.

"What is it, love?" Hermione asked as an auburn blur sped at her legs.

"Crookshanks chased me again." The boy clung to Hermione's legs as tears rolled down from his bright blue eyes.

'Those are my eyes.' Ron thought as he watched this scene.

Hermione knelt down so that she was at the boy's eye level. "Love, we've talked about this. If you don't want Crookshanks to chase you, then you need to stay away from him. He's just cranky because he is old." Hermione explained as she wiped his tears with her fingers. She gathered him up in her arms and gave him an extra squeeze before he went to sit down at the table.

'Which one is Jack? And what is the other's name?' Ron panicked.

"Well, are you ready to cook the pancakes?" Hermione asked the two chefs.

"Yes, Mum." Ellie smiled up at her and hopped off of the stool she had been using.

Hermione winked at Ron and pulled her wand from her sleeve. She muttered something under her breath and the batter soared out of the bowl and into the air. It sectioned off into perfectly round circles and then heated in midair. Hermione swished her wand again and the now cooked pancakes soared over to the table which Eleanor had set before he came in.

Hermione went to sit down, but noticed Ron wasn't coming. He was stuck at the counter looking impressed. "Are you going to eat before you go to work?" She asked, effectively snapping him out of his trance.

"Er…yes, of course." Ron took the only empty chair.

Hermione and Ron served the little ones their pancakes as Hermione kept a constant stream of conversation going between the kids.

"Eleanor, don't think you'll be getting away with the lie you told your dad. No cookies when we go to Grandma's house today." Hermione looked sternly at Ellie, who was cowering under the look.

"Yes, Mum." She said quietly and obediently.

"But," Hermione continued softening her look. "Daddy and I will talk and perhaps we'll push the broom up a year or so."

"Really?" Eleanor's face brightened. "Thanks Mum!"

"Jack!" The auburn haired boy shrieked as the baby threw a piece of pancake at him.

"Jack, no, no. We don't throw." Hermione said clearly shaking her head.

"Oh come on, Henry, its just pancake!" Ellie said exasperatedly.

"Mum!" Henry whined.

"Eleanor, leave your brother alone. Henry, calm down." Hermione told the children. "Oh, Ron, Harry'll be here in a few minutes, I left your work robes lying on the bed. You better go get ready." Hermione said after she checked the wall clock.

Ron sprang up. 'Of course, Harry! Maybe he'll know what's going on!' Ron thought as he walked back to the bedroom that he woke up in. Ron put on the robes that were lying on the bed. As he walked out, he automatically grabbed his wand from his bedside table. 'How did I know it would be there?' Ron thought as he left the room. 'I hope Harry gets here soon.'

AN: Well, breakfast with the family, always an interesting affair. Please Review, flame if you must, but I probably won't read. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry, Ron, Hermione, or any other characters you recognize. I also do not own the plot to "The Family Man."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Harry,are you and Ginny coming to dinner tonight? I cannot wait to see her!" Hermione was heard from the kitchen. Ron peaked into the room, trying to catch a glimpse of the one man who might be able to make this odd dream disappear. Harry stood next to Hermione, smiling down at Eleanor. She was beaming back up at him, just as Henry was. Harry looked happier than he did yesterday in Ron's apartment, looking longingly after Ginny's retreating figure. He had a twinkling in his eyes that reminded Ron strongly of Dumbledore.

"Ron! There you are. Are you ready to start off for work?" Harry asked in a jovial manner.

"Er…sure, Harry. Let's go." Ron said, coming fully into the kitchen.

Harry led the way to the front door and turned back. "Good bye, 'Mione. I will be sure to tell Ginny that you are anxious to see her again."

"Why would you tell her?" Ron wanted to know.

"Ron, because he is married to her, of course." Hermione explained as she and Harry gave him questioning looks. "Are you all right, love? You've been acting rather peculiarly all morning." Hermione asked, concern written on her face.

"Yes," Ron said sheepishly, his ears turning red. "I just wasn't paying attention, that's all." He grinned at Hermione, hoping to convince her.

"All right. I'll see you after work, Ron." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Oooooooo," Eleanor and Henry said from the doorway of the kitchen. "Mummy and Daddy are kissing." The twins said tauntingly.

"Enough of that come on, back in the kitchen to finish your breakfast." Hermione corralled them back to the table. "Don't forget, we're having dinner at the Burrow tonight. We'll meet you there around six. Good bye Ron, Harry, have a nice day!"

Ron followed Harry out the door and as soon as he shut the door behind him, Ron turned to look at Harry. "Harry, you have got to help me."

Harry looked at his best mate for a moment before nodding slowly. "What's wrong? Are you and Hermione all right? Nothing seemed wrong…" Harry trailed off thinking.

"No, everything's fine with that, but I think I'm going mental." Ron said, looking at the ground.

"How so?" Harry asked with a small smile.

"That," Ron said pointing at the house they just came from, "is not my house. That is not my wife and those are not my children. Bloody hell, that's not even my door!"

"Ron," Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Of course that's your door. I helped you and Hermione pick it out."

"Quit patronizing me! That's not what I meant!" Ron said. "Look, yesterday, I went to sleep in my new flat in London, alone. I had no wife or children. I was a Quidditch player and you were not married to Ginny." Ron enunciated very clearly.

"Were you dreaming?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, because I have no idea what is going on now. I don't know when Hermione and I got married, when we had the kids, what I do for a living, what Hermione's job is, or even my own address! This is mental! When I went to bed last night, I hadn't even seen Hermione for five years. Could this be an alternate dimension, or maybe someone cast a spell on me!" Ron started muttering.

"Ron, you're really starting to scare me." Harry said warily.

"You! I'm starting to scare myself, here. I told you, I'm going mental!" Ron howled. "I know, ask me anything and I won't have clue!"

"Did you or Krum propose first to Hermione?" Harry asked, watching him closely, knowing that his Ron knew that Krum had never proposed to Hermione.

"What Vicky proposed to Hermione!" Ron asked, thunderstruck, trying to figure out why Hermione was with him when she could have been with Krum.

"All right, say, hypothetically, I believe you. What next?" Harry sighed.

"I don't know. I guess you have to tell me about my life here until we can figure something out." Ron scowled at the ground, kicking a pebble in his path.

"That I can help you with. Come on, we're taking the day off work. We can owl from my house, saying we're sick or something. Ginny should be gone by now and she should've taken the kids." Harry thought out loud as he quickly took a right at the next street.

Ron scrambled after him. "You have kids?"

"With Ginny." Harry smirked back at him.

Ron stopped with a disgusted look on his face. "Mate, this may be an alternate dimension, but she's still my sister and that's just gross."

"Sorry, mate, couldn't help myself!" Harry smiled at him as they came upon a nice brick house. Harry looked around the neighborhood and seeing that the street was deserted, took out his wand from his sleeve. "Alohomora." He tapped the door and it sprang open.

They walked into the quiet house and Harry led the way into the family room. He went to the bookshelf and started dragging his finger across the spines of the books, searching for a specific one. "Ah-ha!" Harry pulled down a navy leather-bound book and went to join Ron on the couch.

"What's this?" Ron asked as Harry dropped it into his lap.

"It's a photo album. This has pictures of the three of us back all the way from Hogwarts, but we can skip ahead a bit. I assume Voldemort was still in your dimension?"

"Of course, but you beat him at the end of Seventh Year after we went Horcrux hunting. After that, we went back to Hogwarts for our Seventh Year and graduated with Ginny's class. You went on to become an Auror, Hermione went back to be a teacher and I became a Quidditch player." Ron rattled off a list of events that happened in his own life.

"Well, close, but in this time, you never became a Quidditch player and Hermione did not go back to teach. You went into the Ministry into the Department of Magical Games and Sports and Hermione tried the S.P.E.W. thing for a while before becoming a reporter for the _Quibbler_."

"You're kidding! Hermione never would have worked for that magazine because of Luna Lovegood. They never agreed, Luna was too far out there and Hermione was too practical." Ron tried explaining to him.

"And that's what would have happened if Luna hadn't married Neville Longbottom and he hadn't brought her back down to Earth. Not completely, mind you, but enough that Hermione actually enjoys working there and they don't bite each others' heads' off about the reality of mythological creatures." Harry chuckled.

"Now, let's see. Here we are at our graduation with Ginny." Harry pointed at the picture of the four of them in graduation robes, all proudly holding their diplomas. The picture Ron was holding Hermione's waist and kept sneaking timid glances at her. Picture Ginny and Harry would watch Ron and Hermione, look at each other and blush, then shoot the camera a big smile as they moved closer together.

"What's this one?" Ron asked pointing to a picture of Hermione at a podium. Her hair was crackling with energy making it bushier than normal and she was pounding her fist on the podium trying to emphasize her point. Her face was flushed, as it always was when she was really frustrated and the audience in front of her kept backing away.

Harry chuckled. "That was her first appointment with the Ministry about House-elf rights. She was so mad that day; she wouldn't talk to anyone for a week. You tried to calm her down, but she started throwing things at you and conjuring those little birds to go after you. She came to your door a week later, in tears apologizing. According to you, you had a very memorable night." Harry smirked.

The next picture was of Ron and Hermione on a bench in Hogsmeade by the look of it. Hermione was sitting on the bench with her hands over mouth, tears cascading down her face, which was nodding. Ron was down on one knee in front of her with a small black box in front of her looking incredibly nervous. "That's your proposal. You didn't even say anything. You just got down and held the ring out. Lucky for you that Hermione understood you and yourmental ways, most girls would have waited for a flowery speech."

"I'm guessing Ginny wanted a speech?" Ron smirked.

"Yeah, she had Hermione tell me that it wouldn't be as easy if I wanted to propose to Ginny." Harry scowled.

"Our wedding, I suppose?" Ron asked looking at the next few that featured Hermione in a beautiful white dress and him in a black tux.

"Yup. This was at the ceremony. I was your best man and Ginny was the maid of honor. The ceremony took place on June 23 in the late afternoon. The reception was at the Burrow. Here is your first dance and the slicing of the cake." Harry pointed to two more pictures as he turned the page. "And here's your send off to your honeymoon. You went to the Caribbean for a month. Hermione came back very tan, while you were completely sun burnt." Harry chuckled.

The two spent the rest of the day cramming facts, dates, names and anything else that would fit into Ron's head. They went over all of Ron's siblings' marriages as well as the names of their children, the jobs that they all had and who their spouses worked for as well. Apparently, everyone was going to be at the Burrow tonight, and he would look like an idiot if he couldn't remember that his father had been promoted to the Head of the Magical and Muggle Cooperation Department and that his mother even had a job at Madame Malkins now that all her children had grown up.

"Are you ready, Ron?" Harry asked at a few minutes until six o'clock.

"I sure hope so, Harry." He looked pale, but determined, as they both Apparated away to the Burrow.

AN: I'm sorry this took so long, I had major writers' block. I'm on my own for the rest of the plot, I've taken as much as I know from the movie. I'm still not sure if I should have Ron go back to his own reality at the end or just have him stay here. What do you think? Please review!


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